Governor Northam Signs New Law Requiring Child Safety Seats to Remain Rear Facing until Two Years Old

Children are 75% less likely to die or sustain serious injury in a rear-facing seat.

May 29, 2018

Virginia Beach, VA (May 29, 2018) - Today, Governor Ralph Northam held a ceremonial signing ceremony for House Bill 708, sponsored by Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn (D/District 41) which changes Virginia law to require that child safety seats remain rear facing until the age of two, or the child reaches the minimum weight limit for a forward-facing child restraint device as prescribed by the manufacturer of the device. The new law has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2019 to allow for public awareness.

"I am proud to sign this piece of legislation, which puts our children's safety first," Governor Northam said. "When we are on the road, it is our responsibility to do everything that we can to keep our youngest passengers safe. This bill will do just that by helping to protect children in the event of a collision."

The new law, championed by Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn, will bring Virginia requirements in line with the safety recommendations of many national wide safety organizations including; AAA, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Centers for Disease Control, and others. "HB 708, which will now become law, will protect our most vulnerable Virginians: our children and grandchildren. I am proud to say Virginia has enacted common sense requirements that will give the youngest and smallest children the extra protection needed when riding in a car. This is a long overdue requirement that will save lives. I was pleased to work with AAA and so many other stakeholders to ensure that our most precious passengers remain safe while riding in cars, and I appreciate the broad bipartisan support from my colleagues to pass this bill,” said Delegate Filler Corn.

AAA took the lead advocacy role in this effort to strengthen Virginia’s child restraint law for the safety of children in motor vehicles. “AAA thanks and honors Virginia lawmakers and Governor Northam for taking such an important step on behalf of the children who are riding in motor vehicles and who deserve to have every protection possible if they are in a crash,” said Dr. Georjeane Blumling, Vice President of Public Affairs for AAA Tidewater Virginia. Virginia will now be the tenth state to mandate the measure by law: California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina. “Virginia is now on the forefront of this important change for the safety of children riding in motor vehicles across the country. AAA will continue to urge other states to adopt the regulation which is known to improve safety for the youngest passengers on our roadways.”

Currently, Virginia law requires that any child, up to age eight is properly secured in a child restraint device which meets the standards adopted by the United States Department of Transportation. It does not, however, specify how long the child passenger safety seat must remain rear facing.

The new law is a huge step forward and will send a strong message to parents who can be confused by the multitude of car seat options available on the market. Many car seat manufacturers recommend keeping children rear facing at least until two years of age or even longer depending on the child’s size. “Children are safest when kept rear-facing in a car seat for as long as possible. Instead of focusing on the minimum weight limit to face forward, consider keeping your child rear facing until they reach the maximum weight limit of a convertible car seat, which has a higher rear-facing weight and height limit than an infant seat,” noted Blumling. “Convertible seats transition a child from rear-facing to forward-facing and can typically carry a child from birth to the booster stage.”

Exceptions to the requirement, under the current law, can be made if a doctor determines that the use of a child restraint system is impractical for size, physical unfitness or other medical reasons. Those transporting a child who has been granted this exemption must carry a signed written statement from a physician at all times.

Rear-facing seats disperse the crash force more evenly across the back of the seat and the child’s body and limit the motion of the head, reducing the potential of neck injury. Safe Kids

Per the American Academy of Pediatrics (2011 policy statement), young children’ bones, ligaments and joints are still developing which place them at an increased risk of head and spinal cord injury. Rear-facing seats can reduce this risk by supporting the head and preventing the relatively large head from moving independently from the proportionately smaller neck.

Nearly all convertible child safety seats on the market in 2017 (73 out of 77) could accommodate children up to 40 pounds or more when used rear-facing, a weight that exceeds the 95th percentile for children at 2 years of age.

A violation of the rear facing requirement will be the same as existing penalties. First violations are subject to a civil penalty of $50 and second or subsequent offenses on different dates are subject to a civil penalty of up to $500 All civil penalties collected for violations are paid into the Child Restraint Device Special Fund (§ 46.2-1097), which is used promote, purchase, and distribute child restraint devices to applicants who need a child restraint device but are unable to afford one.

As part of North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA Tidewater Virginia provides its more than 330,000 members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding AAA Tidewater Virginia has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. For more information, visit AAA.com and follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/AAATidewaterVA or Facebook at facebook.com/AAATidewaterVirginia.

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AAA Tidewater Virginia is a member club affiliated with the American
Automobile Association (AAA) national federation and serves members in the Tidewater
Virginia region (All Hampton Roads cities, including Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk,
Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg; Virginia's Eastern Shore;
as well as the following counties: Greensville, Surry, Brunswick, Isle of Wight, Gloucester,
Lancaster, Middlesex, Richmond County, Southampton, Sussex, Mecklenburg, James City County,
York, Lunenburg, Essex, King & Queen, Mathews, Northumberland, and Westmoreland).